The House of Merlin
by star.louw
Summary: ON HOLD. Audrey Louw is a Half-blood from South Africa. Just when everything seems to look up, an old family secret is discovered and Audrey's world comes falling down around her. Chapter One Redone.
1. Chapter 1 Redone

**Summary: Audrey Louw is a Half-blood from South Africa, which already gives her some trouble fitting in, especially because her English is not too good. Just when everything seems to look up, an old family secret is discovered and Audrey's world comes falling down around her.**

**A/N: Okay, so I've changed the first chapter almost completely. Kagiso is nice, and Audrey isn't racist. Sorry if I offended you!  
>Chapter amount of words (not including AN): 2647.<strong>

**One  
><strong>

Audrey Louw was not in a very good mood. Today was the first of September, the day she was supposed to go to Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But, of course, something just _had_to go wrong. A few minutes after they had pulled their shiny new Mercedes car out of the garage, they had gotten stuck in traffic. A glance at the car's digital clock showed that it was 10:45. "I'm doomed," she muttered. Hearing a tinkling laugh she turned to face Rosalyn, her older sister. Audrey and Rosalyn looked exactly the same. Rosalyn was a beautiful woman. She had an oval shaped face, a smallish nose and fully defined, rosy-red lips. Her hair was dead-straight and white-blond hanging all the way passed her shoulders. She had sparkling silver eyes framed with naturally long eyelashes and black eyeliner. Her eyebrows were perfect, too. Rosalyn had pale skin, but not so pale that she looked ill. She was tall, but not freakishly so. She had an hourglass and slim figure. She was wearing a short black dress and black pumps; apparently not feeling the chill in the air. An amused smile was on her lips.  
>"You're not doomed, Audrey," Rosalyn said. "You're just late."<br>At this Audrey scowled. "It's the same thing."  
>Rosalyn laughed again. "Look," she said, pointing to something on her left, "That's Kings' Cross station. See, we're not <em>that<em>_late_."  
>Audrey looked up from her lap and was about to squeal happily, but a sudden wave of nausea crept over her. "Stop the car," Audrey gasped.<br>Alarmed, Rosalyn parked the car at the side of the road. She looked at her sister and sharply asked, "What's wrong?"  
>Instead of replying, Audrey threw open the car door and climbed clumsily out of the car. It seemed as if she was going to hurl any moment, so Rosalyn also exited the car and walked around it to her little sister. Audrey was laying on her hands and knees, violently throwing up.<br>Audrey heard her sister give a soft sigh and then felt a warm hand rubbing soothing circles on her back. After a while Audrey was done throwing up and gave a weary sigh. She wiped her mouth with a Kleenex that her sister handed her. Silently she also accepted the bottle of water from her sister. She popped the lid off and took a swig. She swooshed the water around her mouth before spitting it onto the ground. She repeated this a few times.  
>"Feeling better?" Rosalyn said. At her sister's nod, she gave Audrey a hand and pulled her upwards so that she was standing again.<br>"I guess I'm just a little nervous," Audrey said quietly.

The next few minutes were completely lost to Audrey. All that she could remember was reaching Platform 9 ¾, saying a tearful good-bye to Rosalyn, and boarding the red Hogwarts Express. All of the compartments were full, and she was just about to give up when she found an almost empty compartment, the only occupant being a stuck-up looking African girl. She had straight, oily, inky-black hair hanging to her shoulders. Her skin was a dark black color, and had a rather large mouth and flat and fat nose. She blushed at her thoughts. It didn't appear as if the African girl had noticed her, so Audrey gave a hesitant clear of her throat. The girl looked up, her big brown eyes looking into Audrey's own silver ones.  
>"What do you want?" the girl demanded rudely. "Are you here to talk down on me because I'm a Muggleborn?"<br>Audrey's eyes widened. "Jeez, I'm not here to 'talk down on you'. I just wanted to ask if I can sit here; everywhere else is full," Audrey said hesitantly.  
>The girl regarded Audrey through narrowed eyes before finally giving a curt nod.<br>"Thanks," Audrey said as she sat down opposite the African. She sighed as the train gave a hoot before slowly leaving the train station, the parents and friends waving to the younger ones on the train. Audrey spotted Rosalyn and made to wave, but frowned as she saw that Rosalyn was talking to a man in all black robes, smiling and blushing. The man waved his wand and conjured a jacket for Rosalyn. Audrey rolled her eyes and glanced at the African girl again. The girl was glaring out of the compartment window, occasionally throwing disgusted looks at Audrey. Audrey let it go on for a few minutes, but it wasn't long until she was feeling a bit offended. "What is your problem?" Audrey demanded suddenly.  
>The African girl lifted an eyebrow at her. "You are my problem," she said shortly.<br>"What did I ever do to you?" Audrey asked, clenching her fists on her lap.  
>"You were born, for one," she said, looking me up and down with disgust. "Secondly, you're probably a Pureblooded witch," she added.<br>Audrey's eyes widened. "A Muggleborn that hates Purebloods? Well, that's classic. I've never heard that one before," said Audrey, mostly to herself. "But sorry to disappoint you, sweetie," she added, "I'm a Half-blood."  
>The girl opposite Audrey blinked a few times, slowly. Then her cheeks reddened, whether from anger or embarrassment, Audrey did not know. Biting her lip, she hesitantly said, "I'm Kagiso Thembake. I'm sorry about, you know." Kagiso cleared her throat uncomfortably.<br>Audrey felt a small stab of pity for the suddenly shy girl, so she gave Kagiso a small smile and introduced herself. An awkward silence followed. "Um, so did you bring a pet?" Audrey finally asked after a few minutes, bored out of her mind.  
>Kagiso perked up immediately and nodded. She stood up and reached up at the storage space above the seats and removed a small cage. Bringing it down, she carefully placed it on the seat next to her. In the cage was a small bird with brightly-colored feathers. It looked cute, and fluffy, and small. "What is it?" Audrey asked softly.<br>Kagiso smiled proudly at the little bird. "It's called an Fwooper, and is native from Africa. Her name is Nomuula, meaning rain in Xhosa. It's pronounced noh-MOO-lah," she said. She gave Audrey a sharp look.  
>"Noh-MOO-lah. Right," Audrey hastily repeated.<br>Kagiso smiled in satisfaction. "She needs to be kept under a Silencing Charm permanently, or at least that is what the guy said when I bought her. She already had it on her."  
>"Why would she need a Silencing Charm?" Audrey wasn't sure if she really wanted to know.<br>Kagiso was dead serious when she replied, looking steadily into Audrey's eyes, "Because an Fwooper's song will otherwise drive the listener insane."  
>Audrey jerked back, her eyes wide as she looked at the seemingly harmless little bird. She shuddered just thinking about being insane. Yeah, not a very pleasant thought.<br>"So, how about you? Do you have any pets?" It sounded as if Kagiso was asking about the weather.  
>Audrey nodded. "I've got a male Streeler; he's not very impressive."<br>"Do you have him here? Can you show me?"  
>Reluctantly, Audrey removed a small glass case from her inner robe pocket, tapped it with her wand, and restored it to its normal size. Inside was a <em>gigantic<em>slug, with a hard black shell. Audrey grimaced as the slug suddenly changed color to a vibrant red with pink stripes. "Um, yeah, this is Steel. His name is that because when I bought him, he looked like steel."  
>"Oh, now I remember what a Streeler is! It changes color every hour, right? And it leaves a trail of venom when it moves that kills and shrivels all vegetation over which it passes, correct?"<br>Audrey nodded, feeling a little bit better over the huge smile on Kagiso's face. "Wow, this is great! We both have dangerous magical creatures from Africa. This is _aweh!_"  
>Just then, Steel let out a strange <em>eeeehh<em> sound and just...exploded in a mass of gore and venom. Before Audrey or Kagiso could react to what just happened, their compartment door slid open and revealed a girl with bushy brown hair and kind brown eyes. A glance at her robes showed that this girl was a Prefect. Behind her stood a boy with white-blonde hair – not unlike Audrey's – with aristocratic features and a sharp face. The girl's mouth was open as if to say something, but frowned when she saw Kagiso and Audrey.  
>"Oh, are you sure that this is the right compartment, Malfoy?" the bushy haired girl asked the boy leaning against the compartment wall. He only lifted an eyebrow at her, as if saying <em>no<em>_shit_. She blushed madly, muttering a soft "Right." As she was turning back to look at the two students, Audrey wondered what was going on. "I'm Hermione Granger. We were walking past your compartment and we heard an explosion. What happened?"  
>Audrey just kept staring blankly at Hermione, while Kagiso was staring in shock at the gory mess that had once been Steel.<br>Getting impatient, the blond asked, "And? We haven't got all night, you know."  
>Kagiso was the one that answered. "Um, her Streeler kind of exploded."<br>Audrey felt grateful towards her new friend, and made a mental note to thank her later. Much later.  
>"What in Merlin's name is a-"<br>The blond, Draco Malfoy, interrupted Hermione. "Streeler? You have a _Streeler_?" he asked incredulously.  
>Audrey nodded mutely. She didn't know how she was feeling. Sure, she wasn't that fond of Steel, but he <em>had<em> been her reminder of her home, of her life before Hogwarts. And now . . . now he was just gone.  
>The Granger girl looked a little lost as to what to say, and looked hopelessly at her fellow Prefect. Sighing, Malfoy turned to face Audrey. His silver eyes weren't as hard as they were before, Audrey noticed, but they weren't exactly soft, either. "What's your name?"<br>Audrey blinked up at him, her eyes still blank. He sighed.  
>"Is she a Louw?" he asked Kagiso.<br>She nodded. "Audrey Louw."  
>"Is she going to be all right?" Granger asked worriedly, wringing her hands.<br>"She'll be fine. I'll take her to my compartment." Before Granger could reply, he added, "Pansy's younger sister also has a Streeler, so maybe she knows something."  
>"No, absolutely not!" Granger said immediately. Audrey turned to Granger and waited till she met her eyes and gave Granger a puppy-dog look, her eyes wide and watery. Finally Granger nodded resignedly, but she had a determined look in her eyes. Smiling, she said, "We'll stop by your compartment, talk to Parkinson, and then I'll be looking after Audrey and her friend."<br>Malfoy narrowed his eyes, but nodded sharply. His eyes had gone hard again, and Audrey felt a small sense of loss.

The group walked in relative silence to Malfoy's compartment. It wasn't long before we reached it. Malfoy knocked on the door twice. The curtain covering the window lifted, and a green eye peeked at them. The curtain fell back again and the door was opened by a girl. She wasn't the most beautiful person in the world, but she had a type of beauty surrounding her. She lifted an eyebrow when she spotted Granger, Kagiso, and Audrey. "What are they doing here, Drake?"  
>Audrey noticed that her voice was silky smooth and cold. Malfoy smiled coldly at her, and replied smoothly, "Now, Pansy, Audrey here was wondering what was wrong with her Streeler."<br>Pansy's lip curled in distaste. "Why would I help her with that gross thing?"  
>Draco's eyes hardened and said, "Pansy, please help her with her Streeler." It sounded more like an order than a request. She nodded jerkily, and asked where the creature was. Audrey stepped forward shyly, holding the glass case with the multi-colored gore inside for Pansy to see. Her eyebrows lifted until it was almost hidden in her hairline. She asked Audrey, "Don't you know <em>anything<em>about Streelers?" She continued without waiting for an answer. "This is just a rebirth ritual, and in a few weeks' time, he would be searching for a mate. You just need to take it to the DADA professor, he or she may be able to help you with the ritual."  
>"Thanks, so much," Audrey said softly, clutching the glass case to her chest tightly. Pansy's eyes softened and she smiled at Audrey. "No problem. Listen, if you ever need someone to talk to, I'll be here for you, okay? No matter what house you are Sorted into, okay?"<br>Audrey smiled and nodded thanks. She didn't mind that Pansy had whispered it softly into her ear; it just made it more special. Audrey got the feeling that underneath her cold exterior, Pansy was actually a very nice girl. Audrey nodded thanks to Draco and moved out of the compartment back to where Hermione and Kagiso were waiting. Seeing Audrey's smile, they knew that Steel would be alright.

The train ride to Hogwarts didn't take long. Audrey and Kagiso were introduced to Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley, and Harry Potter. They didn't talk too much, but they got along alright. The four Gryffindors had briefly explained the Hogwarts Houses to Audrey, as Kagiso was taking a nap. There were five Houses: The House of **Gryffindor**, The House of **Ravenclaw**, The House of **Huffelpuff**, The House of **Slytherin,** and last – but not least, The House of **Merlin**. Merlin's House, they had explained, didn't have a lot of students seeing as not many people had the right traits to fit in. When Audrey had asked what traits were needed, no one had an answer for her. "There are at the most four students in every year, but more often than not it's only one student in a year group," Ginny had said.  
>And now Audrey was standing in the Great Hall, waiting for her name to be called. She had at first been nervous about being sorted, but when she saw that you only had to be Sorted by a stupid old hat, she felt better. Kagiso and Audrey watched with disinterest as Kruger, Anna was sorted into Gryffindor, said table clapping and cheering loudly. Audrey glanced over to the small table for the Merlin House: they all looked a little down and lonely.<br>"Louw, Audrey!" Professor McGonagall called out.  
>Sighing, Audrey moved away from the line and walked over to the stool. She took a seat and frowned as the dirty Sorting Hat was placed on her head. Audrey waited for something, anything to happen, but nothing did. After a few minutes of total silence, the Sorting Hat called out, "MERLIN!" followed by the Merlin table cheering and clapping hands. Audrey was a little shocked – okay, very shocked – that she was Sorted into Merlin. Who would've thought?<br>Grinning, Audrey handed the Hat to the Professor and hurried to her new table. She took a seat, smiling hesitantly at her new House mates. They all grinned in return.  
>"Hello!" chirped the girl sitting next to Audrey. She was probably second year. She wore the standard black Hogwarts robes. On her chest was the House crest: it was all white, with a unicorn foal in the middle, its fur not completely pure white yet. At the unicorn's feet their House name was written in cursive writing. Just above the unicorn's back a pure black wand hovered. It was strange, but pretty. Her tie was white with the color of the unicorn foal's fur. "I'm Katrien Niemand," the girl added.<br>"Hello, Katrien. You probably know who I am already," Audrey replied. She liked the cheery girl already.  
>Katrien nodded. She had dirty blonde, super curly hair hanging to her shoulders and dark blue eyes. She had a heart-shaped face and uneven lips. She still had a bit baby-fat, not that Audrey really minded.<br>"You're gonna love it in Merlin!" she said excitedly.  
>Audrey just smiled in return.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary: Audrey Louw is a Half-blood from South Africa, which already gives her some trouble fitting in, especially because her English is not too good. Just when everything seems to look up, an old family secret is discovered and Audrey's world comes falling down around her.**

**A/N: Okay, so I've changed the first chapter almost completely. Kagiso is nice, and Audrey isn't racist. Sorry if I offended you!  
>Chapter amount of words (not including AN): 1 208.<br>Sorry for the short chapters, I'll try to lengthen them!  
>All characters in MERLIN are OCs!<strong>

**Chapter Two  
>First Night<br>**

Audrey looked around her in wonder. They had just left the Great Hall and entered their common room (the password was De Lau). The common room was painted with reds, browns and the like. The floor was a dark wood, and it gave the common room a homey feeling. The room was brightly lit, and there was a fire crackling merrily in a hearth surrounded by mismatched but comfortable-looking chairs and couches. There were no portraits in sight. Audrey couldn't believe it when she saw the row of desks with computers – black ones – lining the one side of the wall. She turned to Katrien and whispered, "Why do we have computers? I didn't even think it would work with all of this magic?"  
>Katrien shrugged. "I don't know, really. When I asked Professor Petra Pine, our Head of House, she just replied that Professor Dumbledore had something to do with it, and that we shouldn't question it and just be grateful."<br>Audrey was quite impressed. If it was her that asked the Professor, she would have kept bugging her until she caved and told Audrey the whole truth. Oh well.  
>"Everyone, please go to your dorm rooms and settle in!" a Fifth Year prefect called. He was tall, slim and had shaggy black hair.<br>"Firsties, please stay behind!" another, who looked like the first prefect's twin, called out.  
>Grumbling, the students quickly moved to their dorm rooms. Katrien said a quick goodbye and also left.<br>Six students stayed behind, all of them wearing Prefect badges. There were two girls and four boys. The Fifth Year prefects were the two boys from before, and introduced themselves as Dean and Alec Fryer. One Sixth Year Prefect was a short girl with a black pixie haircut and plain blue eyes. She looked a bit tired, but happy, and introduced herself as Nikki Preston. Her fellow Sixth Year prefect introduced himself as Andrew Fryer. He looked very tired. He had the same eyes as Nikki, but his had a small twinkle in them. He could've passed as Nikki's twin brother. Lastly there was Amber Light and Lucas Light. Both looked very kind, had soft green eyes and golden blonde hair.  
>Audrey found herself liking the prefects, but was a bit unsure of the Fifth Year Twins; they looked as if they pulled a lot of pranks.<br>"Welcome to the House of Merlin," Lucas Light said, smiling at the First Years. "We've already introduced ourselves, and now it is your turn." He smiled encouragingly at a small looking girl sitting on the floor next to me. She had ginger colored hair pulled into two pigtails, bright green eyes and a few freckles. She blushed as she said that her name is Maggie Steward. The Prefects smiled at her in welcome. Four others introduced themselves as Rochelle Oxford, Kate Potter ("I'm a Muggleborn and NOT related to Harry Potter," she had insisted), Luke White, and Thomas O'Riley.  
>"Since tomorrow is a Saturday, and there won't be any school, we'll be getting to know each other," Amber Light said. "As you may have noticed, this year there is an unusual amount of first years. This year we have six students. Last year we had only one, so count yourselves lucky. Good night, everyone."<br>And with that, the twelve Merlin students went to their respective dorms.

* * *

That night Audrey couldn't get any sleep. She missed all of her friends from South Africa, and most of all, her family. She thought of her mother, beautiful Nicole Louw. In a way, Audrey looked exactly like her mother when she was her age. The same went for her older sister, Rosalyn. It was strange, yet special. When Audrey had asked her mother about it, Nicole had become tight-lipped and walked away. Every time.  
>She thought about her father, Tobias, and how he's been absent from her life since the day she turned eight. Audrey missed him terribly, but her mother had told her to quit being a baby, and to grow up. It had hurt, yes, but it was for the best.<br>She thought about Rosalyn, and the man that had been with her at the station. Were they going to get married one day, or was it a one-time thing only?  
>She thought about her best friend Elaine who was probably chasing a cow right at this moment, or was she maybe sleeping?<br>Audrey wondered why she had to move all the way to Scotland to attend Hogwarts, when she could've attended Greys Magical School. It didn't make any sense to Audrey. She had asked her mother and Rosalyn, but neither would give her an answer. Why would they send her to a corrupt Ministry of Magic, to a place that may or may not have a crazed Dark Lord on the loose? Did her mother send her here to _die?_  
>What an unpleasant thought. Audrey sighed and rolled around in her bed.<br>"Are you awake, Audrey?" a soft voice asked from the opposite side of the room. She recognized Maggie Steward's voice.  
>"Yeah. D'you want to go down to the common room?"<br>"Okay," came the soft reply as Maggie climbed out of her bed.  
>The pair silently walked over to the door, out of the dorm and down the stairs. The common room was empty. Audrey took a seat in a plush couch facing the hearth, and Maggie took the one next to her. They stared silently into the dying flames.<br>"Where are you from?"  
>Audrey hadn't thought that Maggie was going to say anything. She was silent for a moment, before finally saying, "I'm from Hogsback. Um, it's a small little town in South Africa that nobody knows exists. If you want to be specific, it's in the Eastern Cape." Audrey's voice was soft as she spoke, her eyes glazed as she remembered the little town.<br>"Is it nice?"  
>Audrey smiled in remembrance. "It was the best place in the world." She sighed, adding, "For me, at least."<br>It has been silent for about ten minutes when Maggie spoke up. "I'm also form South Africa. It's strange how small the world can be. I'm not from the Eastern Cape, but from the Western Cape. Have you ever been there? It's the most gorgeous place on Earth to me. I really miss it. The mountains, the sea, and heck everything about it was just plain home." She sighed. "They say there's no place like home. I agree."  
>Nothing was said for the rest of the night. Both of the girls were lost in their memories, both pleasant and unpleasant ones. It was strange, but to Audrey it felt like she was closer to Maggie than any of the other girls there. She felt special that Maggie had told her a bit about where she lived, and how much she missed it. There was a small place in her heart that felt warm with friendship and kinship. It was nice to have a fellow South-African at the strange and unknown school they were both attending.<br>Audrey felt her eyelids drooping, and leaned her head back to snuggle into the couch. She wrapped her arms around her body, sighed one last time, and fell asleep.


End file.
